Important note: Information in this article was accurate in December 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date. Warmest Holiday Wishes! Well, it's that time of year again! Time to get together with friends and family and reflect on your particular beliefs and interests. Remember, as the nights get colder and the cocoa gets hotter, you'll want to enjoy all the culinary joys of the season, just in moderation! Try just one cup of eggnog or just a couple of mouth-watering pieces of candy or cookies. Your body will thank you for it later, and you won't be beating yourself up after New Year's when your pants are too tight! I've answered some of your questions here, and since I have received so many e-mails about mushrooms I will be putting together an article from various resources that I've looked into. Stay tuned for the info. Have a safe and happy holiday and a joyous New Year and I'll be back with a new article in February! Questions? Contact me at my e-mail address or on my voicemail (see end of article for info.)
My friend keeps telling me to take flax seed, but I don't know enough about it or in what form to take it. Can you advise?
Flax seed has been said to have some impressive compounds that can help protect you from heart attacks, breast and colon cancer, arthritis, severe menstrual cramps and even depression. Two ingredients -- lignans and alpha-linolenic acid -- seem to be found in flaxseed in the highest levels of any other food! Top flaxseed researcher Stephen Cunnane, Ph.D., of the University of Toronto, says that "there's nobody who won't benefit from adding flaxseed to his or her diet" (Prevention Magazine, April 1997). An interesting fact is that whole milled flax seed grown north of the 53rd parallel contains 38% -- 44% oil and up to 60% of this oil is linolenic acid (Omega 3), which is an essential fatty acid. Also, milled flax seed is digestible, while whole unmilled flaxseed is not. According to Donald O. Rudin, MD, a medical researcher, the level of linolenic acid in the American diet has been reduced by 80% in the past 100 years (Rudin, D.O. and Felix, C., The Omega 3 Phenomenon, New York Rawson Associates, 1987.) Dr. Rudin found that Omega 3 Fatty Acids deficiency is the basic cause of major mental illness today (Biological Psychiatry, vol. 16 no. 9, 1981.) Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils are two essential fatty acids that together form the membranes of every one of the billions of cells in our bodies and control the way that cholesterol works in our system and are the only fats that become prostaglandins, which play key roles in regulating the cardiovascular, immune, digestive and reproductive functions; inflammation and healing; functioning of the brain; and body heat and calorie burning (weight loss). Interesting also is the fact that the body cannot manufacture the essential Fatty Acids, Linoleic (Omega 6) or Linolenic (Omega 3) from other elements. They must be supplied daily in the diet. In the typical North American diet we consume too much Omega 6 and not enough Omega 3 (reduce total fat, but ensure adequate supplies of the essential Omega 3). One should avoid all hydrogenated/partially hydrogenated oils including vegetable oil shortening and margarine as they are the source of the unhealthy trans fatty acids. Some researchers and dietitians believe that it is "healthier" to use real butter rather than margarine because of this fact. There are several substitute products on the market today, such as Benecol, that actually help to lower cholesterol levels. Good sources of essential Fatty Acids are: flaxseed, soy bean, pumpkin, walnut, safflower, sunflower, corn, and wheat germ. [Source: TotallyHealthy.com]
Can you tell me some good sources of potassium?
Many vegetables and fruits are good sources of potassium. Here are 16 of the finest: veggies, fruit, broccoli, apricots, carrots, bananas, mushrooms, cantaloupe, potatoes, dates, spinach, oranges, sweet chard, raisins, winter squash, watermelon. [Source: American Dietetic Association]
Cipro Warning
Not long after anthrax was found at NBC, Tom Brokaw held up a pill bottle during a newscast, declaring "In Cipro we trust." On Capitol Hill, politicians lined up for the small white pills after a scare there. The word on everyone's lips: Cipro. Few people had even heard of Cipro a month ago. Now, Bayer Corporation is more than tripling its production of the drug, the only form of the powerful antibiotic ciprofloxacin approved by the Food and Drug Administration to fight anthrax.
Bayer has promised the government it will be able to deliver 200 million Cipro tablets in the next three months. "It shipped 50 million in the last month alone", Bayer spokesman Mark Ryan said. The government will be buying much of the planned output of pills to put in a government stockpile. Our government will pay $1.83 per 500 mg tablet.1
The generic name for Cipro, Ciprofloxacin hydrochloride, received FDA approval in 1987 and is used to treat a variety of infections, including urinary tract infections and sinusitis. The drug was approved as an anthrax treatment in August last year. But before you place your trust in Cipro, consider the following: Common side effects include: nausea, abdominal pain/discomfort, diarrhea, headache, rash, restlessness, and vomiting. Less common side effects may include: Abnormal dread or fear, achiness in the stomach and/or intestines, blood clots in the lungs, blurred vision, change in color perception, chills, confusion, constipation, convulsions, coughing up blood, decreased vision, depression, difficulty in swallowing, dizziness, double vision, drowsiness, eye pain, fainting, fever, flushing, gas, gout flare-up, hallucinations, hearing loss, heart attack, hiccups, high blood pressure, hives, inability to fall or stay asleep, inability to urinate, indigestion, intestinal inflammation, involuntary eye movement, irregular heartbeat, irritability, itching, joint or back pain, joint stiffness, kidney failure, labored breathing, lack of muscle coordination, lack or loss of appetite, large volumes of urine, light-headedness, loss of sense of identity, loss of sense of smell, mouth sores, neck pain, nightmares, nosebleed, pounding heartbeat, ringing in the ears, seizures, sensitivity to light, severe allergic reaction, skin peeling, redness, sluggishness, speech difficulties, swelling of the face, neck, lips, eyes, or hands, swelling of the throat, tender, red bumps on skin, tingling sensation, tremors, unpleasant taste, unusual darkening of the skin, vaginal inflammation, vague feeling of illness, weakness, and yellowed eyes and skin.2
Serious and fatal reactions have occurred when Cipro was taken in combination with theophylline (Theo-Dur). These reactions have included cardiac arrest, seizures, status epilepticus (continuous attacks of epilepsy with no periods of consciousness), and respiratory failure. Safety and effectiveness of Cipro oral tablets and suspension have not been established in children and adolescents under 18 years of age. What is discouraging about all of this is the total lack of mention from our government and mainstream media of possible safer alternatives to drugs like Cipro. Specifically, documented studies indicate that therapeutic grade thyme oil is an effective remedy for anthrax and numerous other pathogens.3
To understand why, one needs to understand how large drug companies, like Bayer, make their money. These large corporations look at billions of dollars, not millions, as consideration in looking at potential products. Patent laws prevent natural products like thyme oil from being patented. Bayer is free to market thyme oil, but sales would be in the lower millions: not enough money to whet their corporate appetites. Then, too, there is a limited supply of thyme oil. Production of thyme plants could be increased, but even then sales would not meet expectations. Further, natural products, though they may be effective, do not have the ear of the medical profession.
The simple truth is that our medical system relies heavily on pharmaceutically synthesized, petro-chemical drugs in treating their patients. Patients are seldom told of alternatives to drugs because most doctors are either not aware of them, or are prejudiced against their use.
In spite of legally prescribed drugs causing over 100,000 deaths per year, doctors continue prescribing drugs like Cipro as though they are kind of a magic bullet.4 They are not.
So the next time you hear the words "in Cipro we trust," think about what those words mean, and their possible consequences.
How Much Do You Know About Water?
Are you drinking the amount of water you should every day? And now, with that said, here's a little info on water that you might not have known:
Chlorine and Your Shower
"Taking long hot showers is a health risk, according to research presented recently in Anaheim California, at a meeting of the American Chemical Society -- and to a lesser extent baths -- lead to a greater exposure to toxic chemicals contained in water supplies than does drinking the water. The chemicals evaporate out of the water and are inhaled. They can also spread through the house and be inhaled by others. Householders can receive 6 to 100 times more of the chemical by breathing the air around showers and bath than they would by drinking the water." [New Scientist, September 18, 1986, Ian Anderson]
"Studies indicate they suspect that chemicals can also be inhaled and absorbed through the skin during showering and bathing. Ironically, even the chlorine widely used to disinfect water produces carcinogenic traces. Though 7 out of 10 Americans drink chlorinated water, its safety over the long term is uncertain. Drinking chlorinated water may as much as double the risk of bladder cancer, which strikes 40,000 people a year." [US News &World Report, July 29, 1991]
"Disease among those drinking chlorinated surface waters. Volatile organics can evaporate from water in a shower or bath. Conservative calculations indicate that inhalation exposure can be as significant as exposure from drinking the water, that is, one can be exposed to just as much by inhalation and/or dermal absorption." [Bottom Line, August 87, Dr. John Andelman, Ph.D.]
"Showering is suspected as the primary cause of elevated levels of chloroform in nearly every home because of the chlorine in the water." [American Journal of Public Health, Dr. Halina Brown]
"A Professor of Water Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh claims that exposure to vaporized chemicals in the water supplies through showering, bathing, and inhalation is 100 times greater than through drinking water. As chlorine is added to kill pathogenic microorganisms, the highly reactive chlorine combines with fatty acids and carbon fragments to form a variety of toxic compounds, which comprise about 30% of the chlorination by-products. During the mid-1970s, monitoring efforts began to identify widespread toxic contamination of the nation's drinking water supplies, and epidemiological studies began to suggest a link between ingestion of toxic chemicals in the water and elevated cancer mortality risks. Since those studies were completed a variety of additional studies have strengthened the statistical connection between consumption of toxins in water and elevated cancer risks. Moreover, this basic concern has been heightened by other research discoveries." [Enviromental Protection Agency, Dr. Lance Wallace.]
"The National Academy of Science estimates that 200 to 1000 people die in the United States each year from cancers caused by ingesting the contaminants in the water. The major health threat posed by these pollutants is far more likely to be from their inhalations as air pollutants. The reason that emissions are high is that because water droplets dispersed by the shower head have a larger surface-to-value ratio than water streaming into the bath." [Nader Report -- Troubled Waters On Tap, Center for Study of Responsive Law.]
"The cause of atherosclerosis and resulting heart attacks and strokes is none other than the ubiquitous chlorine in our drinking water." [Science News, vol. 130, Janet Raloff.]
"In the vast majority of causes where germ-free water is required whether for public supply or in the swimming pool, the process of disinfection will involve the use of chlorine in one form or another."
[Coronaries/Cholesterol/Chlorine, Dr. J.M. Price, MD]
"Chlorine gas was despicably used during WWI. When the war was over, the use of chlorine was diverted to poisoning germs in our drinking water. All water supplies throughout the country were chlorinated. The combination of chlorine (when in drinking water) and animal fats results in atherosclerosis, heart attacks, and death." [Chemistry and Control of Modern Chlorination, Dr. A.T. Palin, Ph.D., OBE]
"Chlorine is the greatest crippler and killer of the modern times. While it prevented epidemics of one disease, it was creating another. Two decades ago, after the start of chlorinating our drinking water in 1904, the present epidemic of the heart trouble, cancer and senility began." [Water Can Undermine Your Health, Dr. N.W. Walker, DS]
"Cancer risk among people drinking chlorinated water is 93% higher than among those whose water does not contain chlorine." [Sainaw Hospital, Dr. J.M. Price MD]
"Drinking tap water that is chlorinated is hazardous, if not deadly to your health." [US Council of Environmental Quality]
Chlorine is used almost universally in the treatment of public drinking water because of its toxic effect on harmful bacteria and other waterborne, disease-causing organisms. But there is a growing body of scientific evidence that shows that chlorine in drinking water may actually pose greater long-term dangers than those for which it was used to eliminate. These effects of chlorine may result from either ingestion or absorption through skin. Scientific studies have linked chlorine and chlorination by-products to cancer of the bladder, liver, rectum, and colon, as well as heart disease, atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), anemia, high blood pressure, and allergic reactions. There is also evidence that shows that chlorine can destroy protein in our body and cause adverse effects on skin and hair. The presence of chlorine in the water may also contribute to the formation of chloramines in the water, which can cause taste and odor problems. Since chlorine is required by public health regulations to be present in all public drinking water supplies, it is up to the individual to remove it at the point-of-use in the home. The best available method of chlorine removal for the individual consumer is found in one of those shower filter units. The filter unit is of great value to those who are concerned about the adverse health effects of exposure to chlorine due to absorption through the skin or by inhalation. The filter will provide superior protection form chlorine, when used in accordance with the manufacturer's recommended operating procedures.
Yikes!!! Some scary information…but, hey, I am offering it to you solely for informational purposes. Do your own research to find out more about the drinking water in your particular community. Or you can do what I do; drink distilled water! They don't add chlorine to it. These over-the-counter water filters are an inexpensive way to filter contaminants in drinking water, but I recommend using them only for filtering bottled drinking water, not tap water. For information regarding water filtration systems, send me a message or call me.
Well, that's all for now. Again, have a safe and happy holiday season, and take care of yourself! See you next year. Keep those cards and letters (and e-mail messages) coming!
Until then, stay healthy, eat healthy, and stay connected!
Cary Alexander, MA, is a Nutritional/Fitness Consultant with over 13 years in the HIV/AIDS community. He has gladly volunteered his services to our organization since 1999. His article is in no way meant to be a cure, diagnosis, prognosis or treatment for HIV/AIDS or any other medical condition, but is purely for informational and educational purposes. You should always consult with your doctor or healthcare provider before modifying your diet or food intake. He can be reached via e-mail at caryalx@surfbest.net, or call 818.985.8856. You can also write to him at 11136 Acama Street, #305, North Hollywood, California 91602. He can also be reached through Being Alive at 310.289.2551 or banewsletter@aol.com
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AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, iMetrikus, Inc., the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2001. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
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